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The structure and possible function of ‘basal membranes’ in the spinouse climacograptid graptolite Appendispinograptus Li and Li 1985

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2015

Charles E. Mitchell ,
Chen Xu  and
Stanley C. Finney
Charles E. Mitchell
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, The University at Buffalo, SUNY, New York 14260,
Chen Xu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology & Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, P.R. China
Stanley C. Finney
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, California State University-Long Beach 90840
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Extract

Extinct organisms with no close analogs and only distant living relatives are especially difficult subjects for paleobiological interpretation. Graptolites, especially the derived planktic Graptoloidea, are among this group of enigmatic fossils. Although the Pterobranchia are widely regarded as a sister group to graptolites, their entirely benthic, loosely organized colonies provide a poor analog for the mobile, highly integrated graptoloid colonies with their complex geometries. As a consequence, many basic features of zooid form and function are unknown. Under these circumstances, particularly troubling features—that is, features that do not readily fit into our simple models—may provide critical data with which to reform the models. It is with this hope that we describe here new observations of some graptolite specimens of the genus Appendispinograptus (Li Zhi-Ming and Li Da-Qing, 1985) and suggest a model for their function.

Type
Paleontological Notes
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 81 , Issue 5 , September 2007 , pp. 1122 - 1127
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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